DIY Painted Photo Backdrops

If you follow me on Instagram, you would have seen a sneak peek of the project I am sharing with you today.  It has taken a couple of months, but I wanted to show you exactly how I have been using them for both Vintage Zest and The Episodic Eater!

I made these boards at my first ever food blogger event, which was kismet, because these were on my "To Craft" list for the longest time!  I don't always have the best light to take photos in the kitchen, so sometimes I have to run around the house.  I might end up in the living room and sometimes I have to open the front door and take pictures on the floor!

With the photo backdrops you don't end up seeing an unappetizing couch or flooring under my dishes, so they come in handy!  These were super easy to make, even to this painting newbie.  I chose some crazy colors, but they are customizable to your needs.  Check it out!

DIY Painted Photo Backdrops

What You Will Need

1. Plywood
2. Paint samples (purchasing small samples is more cost-effective)
3. Paint brushes and/or paint roller set
4. Drop cloth
5. Optional: Rubber gloves
6. Time!

Source & Source

Directions

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Capture the Colour

This is a fun photo blogging competition that I have seen several travel bloggers participate in.  I wasn't tagged, but I thought it would be fun to play along!  Here is the gist straight from the website:

"The idea was simple, publish a blog post showcasing five of your favourite travel photographs which best capture the colour of our five categories: red, blue, green, yellow and white.

Previous entries have showcased the beauty of our planet's natural landscape, impressive man-made wonders and exotic cuisine, as well as animals, friends and once-in-a-lifetime experiences. But, feel free to take a picture of pretty much anything you feel best encapsulates your travel experiences."

Sounds fun, right?

Also, there is the chance to win some prizes, but seeing as how I have never used a fancy camera, I'm not sure that I'm even close to being a contender.  :)  In any case, I did my best to find some vibrant photographs encapsulating the color.  Believe me, it was tough to pick just one picture per category!  I even made sure to hit 5 different countries and 5 of different themes (once-in-a-lifetime experiences, architecture, landscapes, man-made wonders, and food).  Without further ado, here are my pictures!

Red

Flamenco dancers in Barcelona, Spain.

Definitely a must-see for the wonderful dancing, beautiful music, and gorgeous dancers in their costumes.

Blue

Vibrant blue building in the streets of Bogota, Colombia.

This mountain city is full of steep roads, which you can see dropping down in the distance.

Green

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Help for Better Photographs?

This post is a combination of a question to all of you lovely readers and a great tip for you NYC readers out there.

Well, I started looking into taking better photographs a while ago, after stealing my guy's camera.  It would be really great for the blog and even better for real life!  I took waaay too many pictures on my trip, some of which I wish turned out better.  :(

The Cliffs of Moher look sooo much better in real life!

Over the weeks, I figured out that day lighting is so much better for photographs (duh!), even if I had to drag my dress form down the stairs and outside for every garment.

Then, I even figured out on my own a couple of quick fixes using Photoshop and wrote a post on it here.

Just this week, I was featured on Domesblissity for my post on organizing your fabric stash, and it was the worst picture ever!  Ugh, back to figuring out how to take better pictures!

I'm still not quite comfortable with knowing my way around a camera and I looked into some beginning photography classes in my area.  The few that I found didn't fit into my budget or schedule.

Then, I stumbled across this awesome website called Vimbly.  They listed several options for  photography classes with schedule and price comparisons.  Sooo simple!

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Camera Shy Projects

So, I realize that not everyone is a natural born photographer but I have some pretty subpar photos of my projects.  This weekend was very, very busy so I'm going to devote some time to photographing properly this week!

I'm borrowing my guy's Sony NEX-3, and being very, very careful with it.  It will be my first time using a DSLR camera.  It'll definitely be a learning experience!

My new friend for the week!

If anyone has any tips, I would appreciate them!

In fact, think in the blogging world, we all need a little help.

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